'Only a fool would let their enemy educate their children.' - Malcolm X

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

President "Cool Cal" Calvin Coolidge

Before Ronald Reagan, there was Calvin Coolidge. In my opinion, one of the greatest U.S. presidents of the 20th century. A brilliant man & shrewd politician of humble beginnings, he governed as a true conservative; he cut taxes, vetoed spending, and refused to treat the adults of this nation like children.

The modern GOP would do well emulate this man and his philosophy of governance. Besides, who do you think influenced Reagan?

Keeping Cool with Coolidge By Ryan L. Cole.

"Today, the faithful prepare to flock to the nation's capital to participate in what increasingly seems like a coronation. Simultaneously, train trips are being planned and an ancient bible is being brought out, rather immodestly, to remind us of the supposedly uncanny similarities between Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln. Before the president-elect takes the oath of office in front a crowd of millions, it is worth remembering Coolidge's own assumption of the presidency. When news of President Warren G. Harding's death reached Plymouth Notch, Vermont, Vice President Coolidge, out of necessity, was administered the oath of office by his father, at the family homestead, using a family bible by the flickering light of an oil lamp.

Coolidge took that oath and assumed the presidency without promises to heal the soul of the country, change the world, or make loaves and fish magically appear. Instead, when asked for his thoughts on assuming the presidency, Coolidge simply replied, "I think I can swing it."

And despite the opinions of New Deal historians, swing it he did. A year after Harding's death Coolidge was elected president in his own right by a landslide. He spent the next four years fulfilling his duty as he believed the founders had envisioned -- cutting taxes, resisting and vetoing new spending, and generally minding his own business while presiding over a time of great prosperity.

He had no interest in saving or rescuing the American people -- he possessed, what is today, an uncommon faith they could take care of that themselves."